Bright lights! An abundance of color! A cacophony of laughter and delighted (?) shrieks! Welcome, everyone, to the carnival! Enough of those nonsense protein shakes and that hoity-toity recycling; it's time to let loose, have some fun, and live a little! No judgment will be allowed today, not when everyone’s dressed up in ridiculous costumes and eating those unnecessarily huge turkey legs (it... is turkey, right?). For you see, CERES has invited the Traveling Circus of Tjghsldiwk (they hail from a different planet, but here's a hint: the h is silent) to bring some joy to the colonists. This is a safe place to let your inner wild child out, really. Definitely safe. Promise.
Yet for those who are a little less easily convinced to follow the sounds of laughter and amusement (bless your sensible hearts), they will find themselves grabbed and forcibly dragged by a pair of friendly souls in matching costumes. Everyone should be able to enjoy the festivities, don’t you think? Can’t have them missing out on all this jolly good, innocent fun!
The Public Announcement System crackles with... well, a fit of coughing first. But then a gravelly voice speaks! It seems the ringmaster has an announcement for you all. What joyous news can he bring?  Listen... I know that we’re supposed to keep these idiots entertained for at least another day or two but the machinery’s starting to complain. I think I heard the gates of the petting zoo groan – they’re on their last legs.
... Wait, this isn’t the direct line
Oh.
Ohohoho!! Have a great time, everyone! Everything is perfectly fine!
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PHASE I [ 11 00 ] Come one, come all!! There’s quite a large amount of people here, isn’t there? You’ll find yourself tugged this way and that – up until you get dragged right into a changing booth. The helpful attendant meets you with a worryingly large grin – how is her face not breaking? – before pushing you right through the curtain. Then you’ll be given your choice of one of these lovely garments to change into. Look, one of them has to match your skintone, right? Don’t be picky about it! You also have... 90 seconds to figure out how to wear it before you’re tossed out into the middle of the crowd again. Have a good festival!
If you’re not willing to put on the outfits though, that’s fine. Instead, they’ll top you off with a cape and crown, shoving you out onto a... stage? Your adoring public cheers for you, yells your name, and throws confetti in your honor! Then a jester appears again, announcing your grand title:
The Ugliest in All of Cerealia.
Don't worry, that's just your introduction to the carnival; enjoy the rest of your time here! (They may or may not have given you back your clothing.)
PHASE II [ 1600 ] Do you hear that? Cymbals crashing together, trumpets blaring off-tune, the march of absurdly tired feet – a parade is coming! Best move off to the side before an acrobat quite literally tumbles into you. If you are an unfortunate casualty, they’ll actually just start to fall asleep on you because they’re tired… so very, very tired.
Yet the parade continues to march on without them and you can let yourself be distracted by the impressive jumping around and festive partygoers (who seem to be joining in the parade as they please, in various states of undress). But be wary. Distraction will only make you easier prey for the very hungry caterpillar that’s coming up the street next. Run if you can, but it has so very many legs and it’s coming after you.
For those unable to make it away from the caterpillar, they will find themselves gulped right into its gross, drooling mouth – and about five minutes later, they’ll be released out again onto the streets covered in a pink slime. It looks like you won't be able to free yourself from the stuff, so hopefully you can find a friend to get some help! Or one of the strangers around you? Unfortunately, when a kind soul finally comes by to pull you out of the slime, they’ll find that the outside of the gunk is not only immensely sticky but also slippery. If they're not careful, you'll both end up stuck to the gunk together.
You both better get out of that stuff quick because once someone joins you, the slime starts to move. Quick and gooey, it'll pull you and the hapless soul with you down the street at a much too quick pace. Hopefully you won't slide into too many people as you skid your way through the streets of the Entertainment District like some sort of demented Katamari Ball. This is why you should never trust giant bugs!
PHASE III [ xxxx ] In a smaller booth, toward the outskirts of the carnival, some may find a familiar face manning a quiet little shack on her own. Although those who have been in the colony long enough may have first encountered her as an 8-bit version of herself, Aria the fortune-teller is now back and more than willing to drag unsuspecting people into her hands again. Once you step into her stall, she takes one long look at you before sliding over a fortune cookie and a mask. What do you mean you didn’t ask for a mask? That's too bad, because it's yours now. She won't say anything more than that, giving nothing more than a quiet dismissal with a hand and an enigmatic smile to match.
When you step back outside, you’ll find that you just can’t get rid of the mask. If you toss it into a trash bin, it’ll be right back in your pocket. Throw it at a friend? It’ll be in your hand in the next second. Throw it away enough times and it’ll suddenly plant itself on your face -- which leads to all the alien carnival goers in the nearby vicinity suddenly going still with fear before moving to get as far away from you as quickly as possible. Well... you seem to be able to take it off for now if you still want to enjoy the carnival. It just won't go away, and every time you try to throw it away, it'll attach itself to your face. Might as well just keep it.
But... still, it's strange how none of the aliens running the carnival will look you in the eye now, isn't it?
PHASE IV [ 1200 ] For those who aren’t interested in dealing with the abundance of people, there’s also an assortment of critters gathered around for the petting zoo! They all seem to follow a general theme… kind of. That might be floppy ears and a tail if you... squint. The alien staff is right there and quick to ask you not to worry, they're perfectly harmless -- they don't eat humans! It would be bad for their diet, so feel free to pet them, if you can gather enough courage to do so.
Unfortunately, it seems as though this part of the circus was not put together very well; the rickety fences and cages don't really seem to do much against these giant...creatures. Towards the end of the circus' time here, it looks like those cages will start breaking down more and more, too.
The animals rattle the makeshift fences of the petting zoo, until finally, the fences just... collapse. Oops. The ground shakes as the animals stomp and immediately move to break out of their little ring. Well, would you look at that? You’ve apparently found yourself in the middle of a little stampede -- and those warnings about these animals not eating humans doesn't seem to hold much weight when now they're looking at you -- and they look pretty hungry.
BONUS [ why o'clock ] Left and right, there are voices shouting for your attention. "Hey pretty young miss!" or "Excuse me, you stud!" or "Look at this, jackass!" – that said, aliens think that you all manage to look the same, so who knows if they’re yelling at you in particular – and they’re all daring you to come and try your hand at their carnival game.
It’s run of the mill stuff: shooting games, tests of strength, and knocking down a couple of milk bottles. You might actually be doing well! Or... you might be embarrassing yourself in front of whatever cute person you’re trying to impress! But regardless, in the last allotted ten seconds of your game, no matter what, you’ll find your point score plummeting right into the negatives. Did you get a bullseye? What do you know, that’s now worth -1000 points! You missed? -5000 points.
The stall assistant seems to be having a grand old time, laughing at your pain and when the clock finally runs out, they'll give you a large grin. "Look at that score! Well, you know what that means, don’t you? Now, we win you!" With that, metallic tentacles suddenly sprout from the booth itself, looking to capture you and whoever you’re with. Welcome to the carnival, now you're one of the prizes. And it seems you'll be here for quite some time. That is, of course, unless someone can win you back from these really horribly rigged games.
Looks like you'd better get comfortable hanging motionless from a display, like an oversized stuffed animal. You'll be here for a while.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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[ At least she's managing to keep up, for the most part, although she is nowhere near as graceful as Rapunzel is. ]
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Well, except Pascal, who takes this opportunity to wiggle his way onto Rapunzel's shoulder to gape at Mary with the equivalent in incredulity. ]
Wait. What... do you mean by that?
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Even if she has no idea what the little green thing on Rapunzel's shoulder is. Some kind of... frog? But since they're now standing frozen, she might as well talk... she supposes, although she's doing so somewhat hesitantly. ]
I made a promise with my mother, that I wouldn't go outside until I was all grown up. But something... happened, and I was by myself for...
[ Over a hundred years. ]
... A really long time, like I said.
jumps into the sun and never comes back
One morning when Rapunzel was twelve, her mother left the tower canyon to pick up supplies from a traveling caravan - rarer, finer things than what she might often go into the kingdom for. Gothel was only supposed to be gone for awhile, but the trip went on and on, lasting several weeks throughout that winter.
Rapunzel hadn't been bored. But she'd nearly gone out of her mind with loneliness. She'd felt nearly crazy with it. If not for her art and Pascal or her ability to talk to herself as if she were someone else... Is that what Mary feels?
It's horrible.
Braving the waters of unpleasantness that this subject seems to have raised, Rapunzel lifts her gaze, hesitant and shy now, very unlike the way she'd treated the girl before. Why did Mary have to promise? Was the promise enforced? Rapunzel made one too - made loads, even; it's the reason her word is so important to her - but... her situation is somewhat different. ]
Mary, I... What happened? [ Obviously she's still not dancing. Asking questions this intimate apparently doesn't bother her terribly, though their content certainly does. Her voice nearly breaks on the upswing. ]
shhhh it's okay
Also, even with what Malia had told her, about unreasonable promises... she's still ashamed of breaking it, and as Rapunzel lifts her eyes, Mary lowers hers. ]
I was... a lot younger, then. And Mother was asleep when I wanted to show her a picture I made... so I thought, because I hadn't ever been outside, maybe I could just... go out a little, see what grass felt like, how warm the sun would be, and make a flower crown like I'd seen in books. And then I'd come right back in and not go out again. I... just wanted to know.
[ Her fingers twist in her skirt, and she slowly shakes her head. ]
It... really was everything I'd ever wanted. But then... people came. [ Humans. ] They... beat me, hurt me, and they tried to take me away, and when Mother came out to protect me--
[ Mary still remembers it clearly, tucked protectively in her mother's arms, everything seen through a haze of pain and tears... ]
... I lost her.
this thread is not okay
[ Something comes out of her then - a soft sound like either a sigh or a sob that's whisper light and disappears easily in the wind and surrounding noise of the parade. It's like watching herself. Her younger self. Frozen in time and tortured by regret for disobeying. Doing the one thing she was not supposed to do and paying the price in the most viscerally painful way possible.
Losing what she loves. Forever.
After all, isn't that what Rapunzel herself has done here? Left her mother to die while she galavants around magical futuristic city getting in fights and dancing in festivals and falling in love? Throwing everything she was told and taught back in Gothel's beautiful, youthful (usually) face. What had Mary said? They... beat me, hurt me...
Rapunzel swallows down another gasping sob at the horror of it, the way her stomach lurches and twists and oh god she wants to be sick. Mary doesn't deserve that. Nobody does. She herself didn't. It's wrong to punish things for the way they were made.
And all she says, hoping its enough to convey the breadth of her empathy and understanding, though it's vague and not precisely true, is: ]
Me too.
just perfectly normal bonding
It's never an easy memory to recall, but it doesn't choke her as much to talk about it. Maybe because there was no pressing, suffocating silence around her anymore. She could talk about things, and there would be people to listen.
The shame still clogs her throat, and she keeps her eyes resting on the ground, even as she takes in Rapunzel's tiny words. She's not brave enough to look up, nor does she think she can ask about it, so she releases a shaky breath instead. ]
I'm sorry.
nothing heartbreaking here move along
There's a smile on her face as well, but it isn't especially bright. She holds her arms out, looking rather stricken instead. ]
Do you maybe want me to hug you now? We can hug each other...
[ HUGS ARE GREAT H-HAH SO AFFECTION STARVED ]
I know what it's like to be alone so... I'm - really glad I'm here with you now.
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So even though she's still getting used to such kind people surrounding her... Mary nods, just kind of slumps forward into Rapunzel's arms and plops her forehead on the non-frog-thing-occupied shoulder. Her own arms rise, to wrap around her tightly. ]
Me too.
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I guess this makes us backstory friends, huh? [ Hey she's still got snark. ]
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Even if it hurts. ] We both have very long hair. I'm sure there's other stuff too...
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We both have... green friends?
[ Seto's human, though. She has no idea what Rapunzel's shoulder... thing... is. ]
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Who's your green friend?
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[ She says, hushed, as she tries to remain perfectly still, because there's a tiny thing on her head?? ]
He's got a green jacket that he wears all the time.
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AND MAN HUGS ARE SO GREAT AFFECTION IS SO GREAT
HUMAN CONTACT IS SO GREAT!! ]
A-Ah, just. Just wondering! I'm trying to get a handle on how many people have others from their worlds in this one.
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[ Yeah like one of your french girls. ]
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[ It's hard to imagine. ]
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[ Rapunzel pulls away then though, smiling down at Mary before, with much more certainty than before, reaching to brush a bit of hair out of the younger girl's eyes. It's another very Gothel thing to do, only with much less contempt. ]
I'll bring snacks so you won't get bored. And you can draw too with me! If you want. That way we can show one another when we're done. I've never been painted either.
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Ahem. Anyway, she finally lets go of the smaller girl and wipes a hand across her face, just to make sure she hadn't missed tears after all. ] Or you could do whatever. I'm new at painting actual people so I'm still figuring out how to keep them still. I mean animals are easy. All you have to do is feed them, heh heh.
[ Continued here! ]